Why F.E.A.R. 3 is nothing to be afraid of •
Page 3

Eurogamer:
Fettel is a new playable character and he seems to have awesome powers. Aren't you afraid players will have a clear preference for just playing Fettel in co-op?

Parker Hamilton:
People enjoy playing as Fettel, but a lot of people are interested in playing Point Man as well because there's such power and familiarity. A lot of people are familiar with how first-person shooters work and like to play Point Man, get into cover, run and gun and use Slow Mo, which is extremely powerful in terms of the F.E.A.R. franchise history.

But it's a nice problem to have – a new character with new play mechanics. If they want to play as Fettel and offer shield assistance to Point Man so he can rush in and not take damage for a minute, or get into a run and gun mode by possessing soldiers, they can do that.

We don't want to make the players choose one way or the other. We want them to be able to make their own choices.

Heinz Schuller:
We put a lot of energy into making Point Man an awesome character to play. We didn't sell anybody short on amazing weapons and things he can do. It's badass to be Point Man and wield the firepower he wields. We're taking what you would think is the F.E.A.R. character to a new level with Point Man in terms of his combat abilities.

Personally I like playing both, and Fettel is fun and unique, but playing Point Man is a hell of a good time, too.

Eurogamer:
The game was recently delayed. What has that allowed the development team to achieve it wouldn't have otherwise?

Heinz Schuller:
We just wanted to make the best possible experience. Warner Bros. is just as focused as we are on making sure it's a high quality product.

For us, the additional time gave us the ability to really dial it in, to make it as high quality as it can be, which, from a developer standpoint, we couldn't ask for much more.

Eurogamer:
You emphasise the co-op. Will F.E.A.R. 3 also be attractive to people who just want to play a good single-player FPS?

Heinz Schuller:
Absolutely. First and foremost, F.E.A.R. is a single-player experience. While we put almost as much energy into co-op as we did single-player, a lot of us are big fans of the single-player experience, even though that seems to be waning these days. For us it's still key.

The way I look at it, it's a great, high quality single-player game and it's a great co-op game. I weigh them pretty much equally in terms of how well they came off.

Eurogamer:
Long-standing fans of the series love the meaty guns feel F.E.A.R. is known for. How does it translate to F.E.A.R. 3?

Heinz Schuller:
To me, a gun's gotta feel right. I'm sure you've played games where they feel off, they feel wrong.

In this game, an incredible amount of energy went into making our assault weapons, our bigger ticket weapons, feel satisfying, and not only feel right but feel like you can control them in a way that makes you good. That is, for me, how the weapons feel in the game.

Parker Hamilton:
F.E.A.R. is all about visceral combat, that chaos, smoke flying, enemies flying, the ragdolls going everywhere, blood puffing out. A key factor for the guns for us is allowing the player to feel empowered so they can feel successful when they're trying to implement all the strategies they're going for, but not making them overpowered.

We put a lot of focus on it. We know it's a hallmark of the franchise. We hope we've delivered and we feel like we have.